Blue crane (Anthropoides paradiseus)

Wattled crane (Grus carunculatus)

Grey crowned crane (Balearica regulorum)

Crane species in Namibia

Distribution and abundance - overall

• Largest and rarest crane in Africa; with an estimated African population of 7500 – 15000 birds

• Largely restricted to southern and central Africa - wetland areas of Zambia, DRC and the Okavango Delta - with an isolated population in Ethiopia of a few hundred birds

• Major stronghold lies in Zambia which supports c. 5500 birds

• In southern Africa, centered on Okavango Delta, with 1000 – 3000 birds there

• Feeds on small amphibians and tubers, small reptiles, small mammals, insects, grain, tubers, rhizomes

• Egglaying March – September (Okavango and Caprivi), year-round with a peak in April – September (Zimbabwe and South Africa)

• Threats include wetland degradation by drainage, damming and afforestation, direct disturbance and poisoning

Wattled crane

Regional distribution – Wattled crane

In Namibia:

• Namibian population, estimated at around 200 birds, is an overflow of the Okavango population

• Feeds on small amphibians and tubers

• Recorded regularly in 13 wetlands

• Utilises large low-lying wetlands and swamps in northern Namibia, and ephemerally flooded pans

• Small numbers found on floodplains of Okavango, Kwando and Chobe rivers and in ephemeral pans near Tsumkwe. Also Oponono, Oshituntu, Mahango, Sishika channel, Linyanti swamps

• Little known about breeding in Namibia – only 4 records

Wattled crane

No of birds recorded in Wetland counts: Wattled crane Tsumkwe pans

Apr 90 Nyae Nyae 95

Apr 91 Nyae Nyae 7

Jan 92 Tjokwe 2

Jan 92 Nyae Nyae 84

Jan 92 Klein Dobe 2

Jan 93 Nyae Nyae 2

Apr 93 Nyae Nyae 58

Apr 93 Baraka pans 3

Jan 94 Nyae Nyae 22

Jan 94 Khabi 6

Apr 94 Tjokwe 3

Apr 94 Baraka 3

Apr 94 Khabi 2

Apr 94 Nyae Nyae 6

Apr 94 Gautscha 10

Apr 95 Makuri Vlei 2

Jan 96 Nyae Nyae 5

Apr 96 Nyae Nyae 64

Jan 97 Nyae Nyae 10

Feb 97 Nyae Nyae 20

Jan 98 Nyae Nyae 2

Feb 99 Nyae Nyae 9

Feb 00 Nyae Nyae 45

May 00 Nyae Nyae 6

Jul 00 Nyae Nyae 6

Apr 01 Gautscha 5

Apr 01 Gura 3

Apr 01 Nyae Nyae 11

Kwando River (5 km)

Apr 96 2

Jan 98 3

Mahango

Aug 91 8

Jul 92 7

Jan 93 3

Apr 93 3

Apr 94 3

Jan 95 9

May 95 6

Apr 96 5

Jul 97 2

May 98 5

Jan 99 10

Jul 00 2

Jan 01 7

Sishika Channel

Jul 91 2

Aug 92 3

Jul 93 2

Lake Oponono

Apr 93* 4

Jan 94 5

Apr 94 2

Apr 97 23

Jul 97 42

Apr 98 13

Mar 99 30

May 99 12

Feb 00 6

Jan 01 12* Includes Oshituntu

Oshituntu

Apr 94 4

Jun 95 2

Apr 97 2

Jul 97 1

Jan 98 3

Apr 98 5

Jan 99 21

Jan 00 10

Apr 01 3

Distribution of Wattled crane in relation to protected areas and conservancies

Protected areas

Wattled crane SABAP reporting rate1 - 4 %5 - 11 %12 - 18 %19 - 41 %42 - 59 %

Commercial conservanciesCommunal conservancies

No of people /km20.01-0.50.51-1.01-510-2525-505-1050-100> 100

Protected areas

Wattled crane SABAP reporting rate1 - 4 %5 - 11 %12 - 18 %19 - 41 %42 - 59 %

Commercial conservanciesCommunal conservancies

Distribution of Wattled crane in relation to human population

Distribution of Wattled crane in relation to livestock

Protected areas

Wattled crane SABAP reporting rate1 - 4 %5 - 11 %12 - 18 %19 - 41 %42 - 59 %

Commercial conservanciesCommunal conservancies

Livestock density (kg/hectare)0-2021-4041-6061-8081-100101-120> 120

Number of nest record cards: Wattled crane

1 record, August 1990,1 young bird

1 record, August 1989,1 young bird

2 records,April and November 1978,both of 1 young bird

VegetationFloodplainsImpalila woodlandsKalahari woodlandsMopane woodlandsOpen waterRiverine woodlands

Livestock density

Population density

Cleared land

Wattled crane – potential for range expansion?

Red Data status – Critically Endangered in Namibia, – population stable

Threats• Degradation of wetlands, though most are protected, in conservancies or remote

and rarely visited by humans• Flow regulation (e.g. proposed weirs) on major rivers• Increased tourism

• Ability to recover from natural disasters or disturbance is limited because:• - rear only one young• - reach sexual maturity as late as 8 or 9 years old

Actions• Research on movements of individuals through radio/satellite tracking• Enhanced protection of Nyae Nyae pans – a potential nursery area for subadults

Wattled crane

This presentation was compiledusing information and data from:

The Atlas of Southern African Birds (Ed. Harrison et al, 1997)

Avifaunal Database of Namibia, held at the Directorate of Environmental Affairs, MET

Atlas of Namibia – A Portrait of the Land and its People (Mendelsohn et al, 2002)

An environmental profile and atlas of Caprivi (Mendelsohn et al, 1997)

Draft text from the Red Data Book on birds of Namibia (Simmons, in prep)